Package filling



Feb. 23, 1960 E. WALTHER ET AL PACKAGE FILLING Filed Jan. 19, 1954 5Sheets-Sheet 1 Nn LTH-ER TdP/YE);

5,01 WW/wi 1960 E. WALTHER ETAL 2,925,694

PACKAGE FILLING Filed Jan'. 19, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 F29. 4 Hg 5 Feb.23, 11960 WALTHER ET AL PACKAGE FILLING 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 19,1954 mm mm kwk c mm F6%. 23, lgfifi E, WALTHER ET AL 2,925,694

' PACKAGE FILLING Filed Jan. 19, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 ER MRDT WALT/[57WERNER DA/WNIIG- Feb. 23, 1960 E. WALTHER ETAL 2,925,694

PACKAGE FILLING Filed Jan. 19, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet fm/emom EIPHAPDT \N/aLT H ER WERNER DAM/ 1K;-

BQLE ATTOR PACKAGE FILLING Erhardt Walther and Werner Diimmig,Forchheim, Oherfranken, Germany Application January 19, 1954, Serial No.404,996

Claims priority, application Germany February 3, 1953 6 Claims. (Cl. 5337) The invention relates to a process and a means for the filling andclosing of folding boxes or folding packages.

The process according to the invention differs from known processesmainly in that the opened box or package moves towards the fillingmaterial and before, during or after the filling is subjected to achange of movement and is then closed.

According to one embodiment of the new process the opened box and thefilling arrangement are moved towards one another and the fillingmaterial is pushed by means of a plunger from the filling means into thebox which is then partly or completely closed as the case may be, by achange of movement and/or guided to a closing means. With this example,the counter movement of the filling means along with the filling plungerand the opened box takes place advantageously so far that filling meansand filling plunger penetrate into the box whereupon then the fillingmeans moves back and thus by means of the plunger the filling materialis pushed into the box. The plunger is then drawn back and the box nowfilled, is partly or completely closed by means of change of movementand/or guided to a closing means.

This embodiment of the new process is advantageously used if the box isto befilled with material in layers,

for example, biscuits and the like.

If the box is filled with pourable material then the Edited rates Patentprocess in the sense of the-invention is such that the].

opened box is passed under afilling hopper and at that moment is fedfrom the hopper whereby the change of movement can also take placebefore or during the filling process. The filled package is then led toa closing means.

Closer details of theinvention and above all the closing devices formedaccording to the invention are evident from the following description ofthe embodiment illustrated in the drawing, in which,

Fig. 1 shows a side view of a package held open by a gripper and thefilling means before filling,

Fig. 2 is a side view of the parts according to Fig. 1 during thefilling,

Fig. 3 is a side view of a gripper together with package and fillinghopper in the filling position,

Fig. 4 is a side view of a front closing station,

Fig. 5 is a view of Fig. 4.in the direction of the arrow I,

Figs. 6 and 7 are a side view and a plan of the tools A 2,925,694Patented Feb. 23, .1960

. ii I Ce arrow A. With the counter movement the fillingchute' 3 and thefilling plunger 4 reach into the package 2. When the filling chute 3 haspenetrated far enough into the package 2 its movement reverses (Fig. 2)and it then moves again out of the package 2 in the direction of thearrow C whilst the filling plunger 4 pushes the filling material, forexample, layered biscuits, completely into the package 2. Then thefilling plunger 4 likewise returns to its starting position.

After the filling has taken place the direction of run ning of thegripper 1 together with the package 2 changes, as indicated by the arrowD in Fig. 2. After completion of the change of direction the closing ofthe fully grooved open front side takes place. For this purpose thefilled package reaches afront side closing station of which one exampleis reproduced in Figs. 4 and 5. 7

As can be seen in Fig. 4 the filled package 2 moves with its grippervertically downwards. On this downwardly directed path the open frontside strikes against the upwardly bent part 5' of a folding rail wherebythe package is easily tipped backwards. In the example two such foldingrails 6, 7 are arranged near one another. At the same time as thetipping up of the front part of the open front side of the packing 2 onthe bent upper ends 5 of the folding rails 6, 7, continuously movedfolding plates 8, 9 at both sides of the package are pivoted inwardlyagainst the side parts of the front to be folded. These foldingplates'il, 9 are on endless chains 10, 11

or the likelocated at both sides of the supply pathof the package. Thesechains 10, 11 run over. wheels or rollers 12, 13, 14, 15. The rollers 13and 15 lie under the rollers 12, i4 and in such a manner that thevertical planes through their axes are moved, outwards parallel to thevertical planes whichv go through the axes of the rollers 12, 14. Thechains ltl, 11 rotate at the same speed as the packages 2 are moved sothatthe foldin g. plates 8, 9 neither'speed up nor slow down thepackages. The folding of the side parts by the folding plates .8, 9takes place thereforeat the top of the bent upper end 5 of the foldingrails 6, 7 when the folding plates are swung forward against thepackage. The packages 2 thenrun through the space between the foldingrails 6, 7 andthe gripping chain 16 on which the gripper is located.Thus it reaches, as can be seen in Fig. 4, a bearing member '17 wherebythe fastening together of the triangular shaped out of the workingposition of a lid closing station and,

Figs. 8 and 9 are a side view and a plan of the tools of Figs. 6 and 7in the closing position.

According to Figs. 1 and 2 the package 2 opened above and held at thefront by the gripper 1 moves in the direction of the arrow A towards thefilling means which consists of a filling chute 3 or the like and afilling plunger 4. The filling chute 3 is filled by means of the plunger4 which pushes the filling material from the table 5 onto the fillingchute 3. The filling chute 3 and the folded corners 18 of the side partswith the front side takes place. After passing the folding rails 6, 7the package becomes vertical again.

The chains ill, 11 carrying the folding plates 8, 9 are divertedoutwards behind the lower end of the folding rails 6, 7 in the directionof the rollers 13, 15 This position can be seen in Fig. 5. As aconsequence of this deviation which may be effected by suitable means ofknown kind, the folding plates 8, 9 aremoved slowly out from the fold soas then to free completely the package which is then led to the lid.folding or closing station 19. v

The closing tools in operation here and their manner of operation can beseen from Figs. 6-9. For the sake of clarity the grippers which hold thepackages are omitted here. The packages 2 come in the direction of thearrow P (Fig. 6) from the front side closing station according to Figs..4 and 5 and move in this direction to the lid closing means which, inorder to be able to eliect the fold running in the direction of thediagonals 20, has two spreading fingers 21, 22 which cut over oneanother scissors-like with their arms 23, 24. The arms 23, 24 arerotatably connected to one another by means of a bolt 25. Their rearends are rotatably connected to a rod 28 over links 26, 27. At bothsides of the arm ends,

guides 29,30 are provided guided by means of rollers 31, 32. Between thearms 23, 24 there 1S a spring 33 which causes the arms'to lie alii'ayswiththeir guide rollers '31, 32 against the guides 29,30. j i

The bolt 25 which connects thearrns 23,"2 4;rotatab1y to'one another islocated in a fiat slide 34 which is guided in a guide 35. 7

The spreading fingers 21, 22 are, as shown in the drawing, oftrapezoidal'shape. At both sides of the spreading deviceare foldingfingers 36, 37.

The packages 2 coining in the direction of the arrow on which the arms23, 24 are 7 seen in Fig. 3, with the upright front side to the fillingF'ar'eso inade that their front wall ends are at 38' (Fig. I

, then'the rod 28 moves in the direction of the arrow L whereby thespreading fingers are moved to the right (Fig. 7),'and penetrate intothe package. With this pushing movement the rollers 31, 32 inconsequence of the spreading'movement of the arms 23, 24 effected by thespring 33, run on the curved paths of the guides 29, 30 outwards wherebythe arms 23, 24 turn on the bolt 25 and 'move the spreading fingersapart which lie with their rightangled outer edges against the groovedfold' edges 41. Then the folding fingers 36, 37 fold the upright sideparts of the package 2 outwards along the creases 2t), 41. When the foldis far enough then the rod 28 reverses its movement and draws thespreading fingers 21,22 towards oneanother as well as out of thepackage. The friction resistance of the slide 34 on returning isincreased so much by the brake piece 42, thatthe links 26, 27 draw thespreading fingers toward's one another and then out of'the package; Thepackage is, on itsfurther movement, coin pletelyelosed by means of thefolding wall or folding tongue 43. v v 7 As can be seen from Figs. 8 and9 the fold'wall 43 is so bent that it points upwards and'covers' theends of the spreading fingers 21, 22 when they'have their extreme spreadout position. In addition the side turned'towards the-package runsobliquely to the folding walland 'the, folding fingers 36, 37 work atthe time somewhat after one another so that they lay the foldedtriangular parts over or in one another. 7 1

Th'e introduction of the spreading fingers takes place during the changeof direction of the gripper 1 from thevertical to the horizontaldirection. 'The plunger 34 makes a horizontal movement during theintroduction. It is moved'by means of a curved guide (not shown).

It the package 2 is to be filled with pou'rable material point where afilling hopper 6 is provided from which at the moment when the packagepasses by or under it,

the pourable material is filled in an accurately measured quantity. Thechange of movement of the package 2 in the direction of the arrow B bymeans of which it is led to the closing station may be introducedbefore, during or after the filling process.

We claim:

l. A process for the continuous filling and closing of containers havingopened closure flaps comprising simultaneously advancing both thefilling material and a line of containers toward each other in alignmentin the same horizontal plane, inserting filling material into eachcontainer as the container is exposed to the filling material, and thenmoving the container vertically downward while'closing at least some ofthe closure fiaps.

2. A process as in claim 1, further comprising inserting the fillingmaterial by means of a plunger which advances toward the container whilethe container is also advancing toward the plunger.

3. .A process as in claim 2, further comprising first inserting afilling chute intosaid container, then inserting the filling material bysaid plunger, next withdrawing said chute, and finally'withdrawing saidplunger.

4. -A process as in claim 3, further comprising folding certain of theside fiaps by folding means which travels along with and at the samespeed as the container,

5 A process as in claim 4, further comprising first folding said certainside flaps by said folding means, and then folding a front flap beforeremoving said folding means. V

6. A processas in claim 5, further comprising spreading other side flapsby fingers inserted in the container, partially folding said other sideflaps with folding fingers,

and then completing the fold by pressing the-top flap against a wall.

References Cited inthe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,449,478 Herzog Sept. 14, 1948 2,586,096 Conti -a Feb. 19, 19522,640,305 Gencoet a1. .l une 2, 1953 2,651,896 Woodruff et a1 Sept. 15,1953 2,671,588 V ogt Mar. 9, 1954 2,721,018 Heavin Oct. 18, 19552,756,553 Ferguson et al. July 31, 1956 Vogt Dec. 25,

